Newport backrower Hunter Ward is arguably the best semi-professional rugby player in Wales right now

A couple of years ago, Hunter Ward was rubbing shoulders with Wallabies great Michael Hooper in the Waratahs’ dressing room and going toe-to-toe with the likes of All Blacks back-rower Du’Plessis Kirifi in Super Rugby Pacific.

Fast-forward to 2026, and the 27-year-old from Orange, New South Wales, is turning out for Newport in Super Rygbi Cymru and earning his living as a carpenter.

It has been quite a journey for the uncompromising back-rower, whose abrasive style of play has earned him the nickname the ‘Combat Wombat’ among his team-mates.

"Things were going well for me at the Waratahs but unfortunately the coach Darren Coleman didn't get re-signed and the new coach wanted to go in a different direction," he tells WalesOnline.

"I just sort of went back and finished my carpentry apprenticeship then and then I met my partner in Sydney. We then just decided to come to Wales.

"I hadn't done much travel and I just thought it'd be a good idea to come to Wales. I thought if I'm going come over here I need to join a rugby club.

"I thought if I do that I'll instantly have 30-odd mates.

"I reached out to Newport because I knew one of the players, Harry Fry, that I'd played in the Shute Shield with.

"I then got on to Ty Morris (Newport coach) and basically just had a run with Newport. I've fallen in love with the club and all the people there have just been unreal."

The life of a professional rugby player is rarely straightforward, with uncertainty an ever-present companion.

Ward had gone from sharing the field with, and competing against, world-class Wallabies and All Blacks to finding himself cast adrift on the unforgiving scrapheap of professional rugby.

"I played two games against the Brumbies and then one against the Auckland Blues along with one against the Hurricanes," he said.

"It was unreal. I was in a position where I was one of the young guys at the Waratahs but they had good back rows ahead of me like Michael Hooper and Charlie Gamble.

"I wanted to stay in that environment but sometimes it just isn't meant to be.

"When I didn't get signed it was pretty gutting.

"You then hope that you'll get another opportunity and you chase it for so many years and put in the hard yards, but some of the best advice I had is remembering it's just one person's opinion of you.

"I guess you've just got to take it on and work as hard as you can."

Ward has since found a happy balance, embracing life as a semi-professional rugby player while forging a career as a carpenter in Wales for a building company called Clear Choice.

"I start training in the morning, so I usually wake up at 5am and try and get to the gym by 5.30am to get a workout in," he explains.

"At Newport we get given S&C plans, so they want us to get in three lifts (gym sessions) a week. I try to go Monday morning and then I go Tuesday morning.

"We then train in the afternoon and I have Wednesday off.

"Then I go Thursday morning and all my morning trainings are at about 5.30am.

"I work all day and then finish at 4.30pm. It is tough but I think when you're sort of in the routine it's just normal."

Ward may have missed out on a contract in Australia, but his value to Newport is beyond question. Over the past year, he has established himself as one of the outstanding back-rowers in Super Rygbi Cymru, with the latest rankings underlining the breadth of his contribution.

He features in no fewer than six statistical categories, topping two.

Alongside Ebbw Vale’s Ieuan Morris, he leads the way for turnovers won, with 12, while his 16 actions in the ‘work and tackle’ category put him at the summit of that particular measure, too.

His presence among the leading performers for carries, defenders beaten, tackles and post-tackle interventions further illustrates the all-court qualities that have made him such a valuable asset to Newport.

Newport head coach Ty Morris is in no doubt he has what it takes to be a professional rugby player once more.

“I’ve coached quite a few people who have stepped down from the Dragons into our environment and he’s by far the best player that I’ve coached – hands down,” said Morris.

“He’s up there with the Ollie Griffiths' of this world in that he makes a massive impact on every SRC game. There are certain players that have come down and they haven’t done that.

“I have to say if someone took a bit of a gamble on him, he would make most regional teams better. There’s not a lot else I can say.

"He’s right up there. Like I said, one of the best.”

Ward is also targeting a return to the professional game.

"I do have aspirations to play professional rugby again," he tells WalesOnline.

"Over the last year and a half at Newport I've fallen back in love with the game and I'm really enjoying my rugby.

"So to go get back into that professional environment is definitely there in the front of the mind and is part of the reason I'm getting up early and getting all my gym sessions in.

"I was lucky enough to go in for some training sessions with the Dragons at the end of last season when they had a few in the Wales camp and a couple of injuries.

"I went in there for two weeks but it was nice. It was really nice to get back around that professional side.

"The coaching staff and players and the Dragons were awesome. They were real friendly and it was a really good experience.

"I think over here I'm a bit snookered by my passport to go onto higher honors because it then becomes a little bit more selective with regards foreign player spots.

"I'm working pretty hard to see what can happen but at the end of the day I just enjoy playing rugby and I enjoy playing rugby for the mates and the experiences.

"I think when you're playing good rugby on the field the stuff in the background sorts itself out.

"My focus is playing well for Newport and the other stuff will hopefully sort itself out."

With the prospect of a return to professional rugby still a possibility, Ward has unfinished business to attend to at Newport and an itch he is determined to scratch.

The Black and Ambers sit top of Super Rygbi Cymru, and Ward is intent on playing his part in ensuring they turn their league position into silverware come the end of the season.

"In pre-season when Ty (Morris) was speaking around what we want to get out of this first block, it was about a good start and I think we've got that.

"We've had we've had five or six wins and one loss.

"For me, last year it was gutting not to get the treble and win all three trophies.

"We had the opportunity there to win the league and we just fell short against Ebbw Vale in the semi-final.

"This year I really want to win the league. I think it's just the last thing that I probably can tick off in the SRC. I know a lot of players at Newport want to win that league.

"So we are going after that."

For Ward, the dream of professional rugby remains alive but first he has a league title to chase with Newport and the ‘Combat Wombat’ is determined to make every tackle, turnover and early-morning gym session count.